Penny Williams was interviewed August 14, 2007 and March 28, 2008 as part of the Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project. Ms. Williams was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1980 and served through 1988 at which time she was elected to the Oklahoma Senate, serving through 2004. She represented House District 70 and held the Senate District 33 seat. She was a member of the Democratic Party. Ms. Williams was in the legislature 24 years, the longest serving woman. She shares her memories of campaigning, working on issues such as education reform and equal rights. She also discusses her role in the creation of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and the Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain, and her role bringing public higher education to Tulsa.

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